The 1098-T is an IRS form entitled “Tuition Statement” that assists the student in determining if he/she qualifies for certain education related tax credits under the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997(TRA97). The IRS requires eligible educational institutions such as Georgia Highlands College, who receive payment for qualified tuition and related expenses during the calendar year to provide this statement to the students and to the IRS. ALL STUDENTS WILL NOT QUALIFY FOR A 1098-T FORM.

Mailing Date:

The Forms will be mailed by January 31st of the following year. All students should receive their 1098-T form within two weeks of this date.

Mailing Address:

The 1098-T form will be mailed to the mailing address in Banner/SCORE. If the student’s address has changed recently, they need to update their address in Banner/SCORE or contact the Registrar’s Office to enquire about updating their account to reflect the new address.

Copy of the 1098-T form:

All students will have the option of printing their copy of their 1098-T statements from the following link: http://www.1098t.com.

Information reported on form 1098-T:

On the 1098-T form, Georgia Highlands College reports student’s name, SSN, address and indicates if the student was at least half-time during the calendar year. The college reports the amount billed for qualified tuition and related expenses and not the actual amount that the student paid to the college during the calendar year. GHC has elected to report amounts billed in Box 2 instead of payment received in Box 1 . Please note that this form is CALENDAR based, January 1, 20XX- December 31, 20XX. Students generally are under the impression that it is semester based, Spring, Summer, Fall, and it is not.

This represents the amounts billed during the calendar year for qualified tuition and related expenses. The amount reported is the total amount billed less any reductions in charges made during the calendar year that relate to the amounts billed.

Amounts included in Box 4 , “Adjustments made for a prior year”:

This represents any reduction in charges made for qualified tuition and related expenses processed during the calendar year that relate to amounts billed that were reported for a prior year. The student could have an adjustment if they had any changes during this calendar year that affected the previous calendar year, i.e. late withdraws.

Amounts included in Box 5 , Scholarship and grants for a prior year”:

This represents any reduction to the amount of scholarship or grants that were reported for prior year.

What should students do if they do not receive the1098-T Form

Georgia Highlands College sends a 1098-T form to every student except foreign students, from whom the college received payment for qualified tuition and related expensesthat was greater than their scholarships or aid. If the student’s scholarship and/or financial aid exceeds their qualified expenses the IRS does not require GHC to provide the student with a 1098-T, and therefore one will not be sent.If the student does not receive their 1098-t, and their expenses exceeded their aid, then they will need to logon to the www.1098t.com website and print a copy of the form.

What should students do if they have questions regarding their 1098-T Form:

If students have a general question regarding their 1098-T form, then they need to review the information on the www.1098t.com website. If they have specific questions related to the amounts on the form, then they should contact the GHC business office. For all general tax questions the students should follow up with their tax advisor.

Determining the eligibility for the educational tax credits:

Georgia Highlands College cannot determine if a student qualifies for a tax credit and is not allowed to give tax advice. Students should read the instructions on the 1098-T statement and obtain IRS publication 970 and Form 8863 or contact a tax professional about their personal income tax situation. The IRS website for the above form and publication is www.irs.gov/formspubs/index.html, and the IRS can be reached at 1-800-829-1040.